Castor Bank

After sailing through the night we arrived on Castor bank mid-morning and having had breakfast we were eager to get suited up and in the water. We quickly got ready and were in the water in no time at all, drifting with the current relaxing and breathing up, diving and waiting mid water. Our strategy was to drop in the deeper water and have the current push us toward the reef edge and the fish. After a few drifts we ascertained the current was not running the way we needed it to and we were going to have to change our plan.
We had a quick conference and decided to drop right on the reef edge then we could see which way the water was moving and where we needed to be dropped in future. This proved to be just the right decision as we landed right on a sand gutter that ran off into the deep and we could see Doggies down near the reef edge. The fish were way down deep and we decided we needed to do something to get them to come up. I took the opportunity to take some species I had not shot before in the hope that the activity would get the Doggies to investigate. I shot a very large Unicorn Fish and a massive Coral Trout, definitely the biggest I had ever shot to date.

Unicorn Fish, very tasty but dont forget to watch out for the scutes on the tail they are sharp!!

The tactic worked and pretty soon Greg had a respectable Doggie in his hands, and I had also landed a reasonable sized fish. We continued to use the same tactics for the rest of the day as we drifted down the edge of the reef using the current to assist us in exploring the drop off. We found some very interesting rock features along the edge and right on sunset we found the most amazing bommie just teeming with a huge variety of species, it was here that I secured my first Green Jobfish and a Rubberlips.

Fish ready for cleaning at the end of the day, Trout, Green Jobfish, Rubberlips and Unicorn Fish.

We dived hard until we ran out of light and planned to dive just as hard the next day. We hungrily ate a wonderful meal of fresh fish and vegetables before heading to bed, eager to make the most of our last day on Castor Bank.
After a good nights sleep we once again woke early and ate a light breakfast of fruit and toast, before gearing up and jumping in on the same edge we started on the previous day. We drifted further down the reef this morning and it wasn't long before we discovered some more interesting structure. Diving over the rock formations proved fruitful and it wasn't long before Greg had a Doggie on and fighting hard.
It ran hard out into the deep water only to return seconds later pursued by a dozen sharks, it ran into some shallow water and holed up in a cave, something Greg later said he had never seen before. When the fish finally exited the cave the sharks wasted no time in devouring it in a frenzy. While watching the fish being vaporized it occurred to me that using a cable slip tip was definitely a better choice over a spectra rigged tip as one could easily loose the tip in this situation.

The shark situation did not get any better as the day went on and later with the change in tide the current changed and we drifted a different part of the reef edge. After numerous drifts we located another magical bommie teeming with fish life. It was surrounded by Coral Trout and Green Jobfish and was home to two resident Brindle Bass. It also had a very large Harry Hotlips in attendance loads of Parrots and a proliferation of smaller species. I managed to bag a very large Coral Trout and a large Green Jobfish then a small Doggie of around 10kg.

A large coral Trout and small Doggie.

Richard and I both made repeted dives to try and secure the Harry Hotlips but to no avail, as it was late in the day by this point we decided to give Greg a chance on the fish and called him over.  Greg also made repeted dives on the bommie but failed to even sight the Hotlips. At the end of his last dive a very large Green Jobfish strayed a little too close and Greg took what was without a doubt the longest shot I have ever seen him take. He was using a 1.3mt roller gun with a 7.5mm shaft and 20mm rubber, it was one of, if not the best shot I have seen him take and he nailed the fish with ease. With the light now fading and the fish landed we boarded the boat for the last time and began to stow out gear as we set course for Nosy Be and our flights home.

Greg and I with our Green Jobfish from the Bommie.

Once we had finished taking photographs, stowing our gear and were showered and dry we sat back and enjoyed a relaxing cold beer as we watched the sun set on our last night at sea.  What a magical sunset it was too, one of the best I have ever seen. 

Sunset on Castor Bank.

Greg and myself, two very tired but happily worn out divers relaxing after an epic trip.

We arrived back at Nosy Be in the early hours of the morning and lay at anchor until sunrise when we unloaded all our gear and hung it all out to dry back at the Villa. We were flying back to Johannesburg the next day and we took the day out to dry and repack our gear prior to our departure. Once that task was completed we spent the rest of the day relaxing and reliving out adventure, even starting to loosely plan our next trip. We dinned early and being utterly exhausted we all fell asleep as soon as we lay down.
We rose early the next morning and made our way to the airport where we said goodbye to Woody and boarded our plane to Antananarivo. We had a short stop over and somehow Chris managed to reed the departure time wrong and when we went to check in we discovered our plane was already boarded and ready to depart.
We freaked and threw our bags at the baggage guys while the check in staff printed our boarding passes, then we ran out to the plane, the immigration guy just stamped our passports as we ran past. We even had to push the stairs back up to the plan and knock on the door, it was close but amazingly we made our flight to Johannesburg. It really was a crazy way to end such a crazy adventure and we laughed about it the whole way back.
We have all since returned to our normal lives and jobs but in the background we are planning another epic adventure together soon, it should be a blast!!